Disability Justice and Climate Justice: The Overlap No One Talks About
Bridgette Hamstead
Disability justice and climate justice are often discussed as separate movements, each with its own set of concerns, activists, and policy goals. However, the overlap between these two areas is significant and deeply consequential, yet rarely acknowledged in mainstream conversations. The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue; it is a human rights issue that disproportionately affects disabled people in ways that society is largely unprepared to address. From extreme weather events and inaccessible disaster response systems to the structural barriers that prevent disabled people from adapting to a rapidly changing world, the intersection of disability justice and climate justice demands urgent attention.
One of the most immediate and devastating ways the climate crisis impacts disabled people is through extreme weather events. Hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves, and flooding events are becoming more frequent and severe, yet emergency preparedness plans consistently fail to consider the needs of disabled individuals. Evacuation centers are often inaccessible, leaving many without a safe place to go during a disaster. Public transit systems, which disabled people disproportionately rely on, frequently shut down during emergencies, making it nearly impossible for those without private transportation to flee dangerous conditions. Those with mobility impairments, sensory sensitivities, or medical conditions requiring electricity-dependent devices are left behind or forced into life-threatening situations because emergency response systems were designed with only nondisabled people in mind. The result is that disabled individuals are far more likely to experience injury, displacement, or death during climate-related disasters.
Even outside of acute disasters, the ongoing effects of climate change place significant burdens on disabled people. Rising temperatures exacerbate many chronic health conditions, including respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune disorders. Many disabled people have difficulty regulating body temperature, making extreme heat a direct threat to their health and safety. Air pollution, which is worsened by climate change, disproportionately affects those with asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions. As air quality deteriorates, disabled people are forced to spend more time indoors, further limiting their access to community, employment, and social engagement. Those who rely on home-based care or in-home medical equipment face additional risks when power outages, extreme weather, or supply chain disruptions make it difficult to receive the services they depend on.
Housing insecurity is another area where disability justice and climate justice intersect. Disabled people are already at a higher risk of experiencing poverty and homelessness due to systemic barriers in employment, education, and healthcare. As climate change drives up housing costs and displaces communities through disasters and rising sea levels, disabled individuals are often the first to be pushed out of stable housing. Affordable housing options that are also wheelchair-accessible, sensory-friendly, and located near necessary medical services are already scarce. As the climate crisis worsens, the competition for safe, accessible housing will become even more intense, further marginalizing disabled individuals who are often left out of policy discussions about climate-related displacement and relocation.
Employment is another critical area where climate change disproportionately impacts disabled people. Many neurodivergent and physically disabled individuals already struggle to find and maintain employment due to ableist hiring practices, workplace discrimination, and a lack of accommodations. As climate-related economic disruptions cause job losses and shifts in labor demands, disabled workers are even more likely to be excluded. Green job initiatives often focus on physically demanding labor, such as construction, renewable energy installation, and agriculture, with little attention paid to how these jobs can be made accessible to disabled workers. At the same time, as workplaces move toward hybrid and remote work models in response to climate concerns, many disabled workers who have been denied remote work accommodations for years are rightfully questioning why flexibility is suddenly possible for nondisabled employees but remained inaccessible when disabled people asked for it.
Transportation systems are another area of concern, as climate policies often fail to consider disabled people when designing sustainable transit solutions. While the push for reducing carbon emissions is critical, many proposed solutions, such as car-free urban areas, increased reliance on biking, and reductions in accessible parking, fail to account for disabled individuals who cannot use bicycles, walk long distances, or navigate inaccessible public transit. Electric vehicle incentives often do not extend to accessible vehicles, leaving many disabled people without viable transportation options. Policies that focus solely on environmental impact without considering accessibility ultimately reinforce existing inequalities rather than creating truly sustainable, inclusive solutions.
Food insecurity is another area where disabled people are disproportionately affected by climate change. Many disabled individuals already struggle with food access due to financial instability, transportation barriers, and limited availability of sensory-friendly or medically necessary diets. Climate disruptions in agriculture, rising food costs, and supply chain breakdowns make it even harder for disabled people to obtain consistent, affordable, and appropriate nutrition. Emergency food assistance programs often overlook accessibility needs, providing limited options for those with dietary restrictions or requiring physical labor to collect and transport food. This further isolates disabled people and forces them into survival mode rather than allowing them to fully participate in community resilience efforts.
Medical care access is also deeply impacted by climate change, creating another crisis for disabled individuals. Increased natural disasters and extreme weather events disrupt healthcare systems, making it harder for disabled people to access routine and emergency medical care. Flooded hospitals, power outages, and supply shortages disproportionately impact those who require regular treatments, prescription medications, or in-home care. Many disabled individuals rely on medications that require refrigeration or have conditions that necessitate stable air quality, consistent power, and climate-controlled environments. As the climate crisis intensifies, these essential healthcare needs are repeatedly neglected, leading to preventable suffering and deaths.
The failure to include disabled people in climate policy discussions is not an oversight; it is a reflection of the systemic ableism that permeates both environmental movements and government policy. Climate action plans are frequently developed without input from disabled communities, leading to initiatives that reinforce existing inequities rather than addressing them. Many environmental organizations and policymakers focus on broad sustainability goals without considering how those goals impact disabled people, resulting in solutions that are only accessible to those who are already privileged. If climate policies do not center the most marginalized, they are incomplete and ultimately ineffective.
A truly just climate movement must be one that integrates disability justice at every level. This means including disabled activists in leadership roles, ensuring that climate policies are accessible and inclusive, and recognizing that disabled people are not passive victims of climate change but essential voices in creating solutions. It requires dismantling the ableist structures that make disaster response, housing, employment, transportation, food access, and healthcare inaccessible to disabled people in the first place. It means understanding that sustainability is not just about reducing carbon emissions but about creating a world where everyone, regardless of ability, can survive and thrive.
Disability justice and climate justice are not separate fights. They are deeply intertwined, and the future of both movements depends on acknowledging and addressing this overlap. If climate solutions continue to exclude disabled people, they will not be solutions at all. It is time to build a movement that recognizes that true sustainability cannot exist without accessibility, and that justice for the planet must also mean justice for the people who inhabit it.